Monday, July 15, 2013

Can Your Faith Fail?

This is the title of a book by Charles Capps that I spied atop my parents' file cabinet this evening while stopping by for a visit. I thought it a very curious and intriguing book title, considering all that I've been going through for the past few years. I intended to bring it home with me to read in the hopes of gaining some insight on my own faith.

As I sat in my room pondering the book's title and asking all the questions one asks when you don't see immediate responses to your prayers, insight came.

Can your faith fail? No, never. Whether you're believing in good or evil, expecting a favorable outcome or an unfavorable outcome, your faith always work. Be it unto you according as you have believed.

Wednesday, July 3, 2013

Live. Grow Stronger. Fight Another Day.

I don't watch very much television nowadays, but there was a time when I did. Among one of my favorite programs was Highlander: The Series. If you've never seen it, you should check it out. It's about a race of immortals competing, in rather bloody fashion, for the ultimate prize: dominion of the earth and mankind.

I love the historical aspects of the series as it travels through time exploring significant events like the Crusades, the French Revolution, the American Revolution, the Civil War, the Salem witch hunts, the Jazz Renaissance in Paris, from the perspective of the immortals. I also liked watching the ever-eternal battle of good versus evil. Plus, the series was filmed partly in Paris, and what woman doesn't like Paris! Ooh, la, la! The series' hero is Duncan McLeod, an extremely handsome, moral, yet flawed, immortal who really wants no part in the battle—over the centuries he's grown tired of all the bloodshed—but soon realizes that by remaining on the sidelines, he allows the evil that he abhors among some of his fellow immortals to flourish.

While I enjoyed watching the character of Duncan battle his external and internal demons every week (something each of us does daily), one of my favorite characters in the series is the immortal named Methos, brilliantly played by actor the enigmatic Peter Wingfield. Methos is initially revealed to be a 5,000 year-old immortal, who disguises himself as university graduate student named, of course, Adam. But as the series progresses, it's later revealed that his true age is unknown. It's hinted that he may have been alive during the time of Methusaleh. (Definitely a topic for another post because, really, because I cannot even imagine itwhat does a 900+ year old man look like?)

My affinity toward Methos was immediate, from his first appearance when—in the actor's perfectly beautiful British accent—he utters one of the most awesome lines of the series: "Remember, Highlander: Live. Grow stronger. Fight another day." (Actually, he utters a number of awesome lines during the series' run, many of which make me swoon. Fellas try this one on for size when trying to secure a date and the woman asks why you want to go out with her: "Because the alternative is unthinkable." If you can say it with a British accent, trust me on this, that date is yours!)
Live. Grow stronger. Fight another day.

Awesomely, powerful words from an unlikely source. They are among my arsenal of affirmations to get through life's rough patches. When the trials and challenges of life threaten to pull me under, these words are my call-to-arms, awakening the warrior spirit in me.They help restore my focus and my strength and bring me back to a place of hope and possibility, a place where magic can happen.

I encourage you to add these words to your arsenal of positive affirmations: LIVE. GROW STRONGER. FIGHT ANOTHER DAY. Because sometimes to traverse this journey we call life, you need a warrior's spirit.

Monday, July 1, 2013

Meditation #7—One

God's life is now my life. His strength is my strength. His power is my power. His love is my love. His peace is my peace. His joy is my joy. His abundance is my abundance.

In Him, I live and move and have my being. I am in Him and He in me. Wherever I am, He is present. We are one.